


Elementary, my dear Enjolras!

by they_hear_the_music



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crime, Disabled Character, Enjolras has been pining since forever, Established Friendship, F/M, Fluff, Grantaire is a little shit who solves mysteries, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Sort of at least, taggs will probably be added, very loose Sherlock Holmes AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-03
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-18 21:37:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4721330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/they_hear_the_music/pseuds/they_hear_the_music
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Is it true that you were able to proof the New Ripper guilty just by looking at him?"<br/>"Newspapers tend to exaggerate," Grantaire huffed.<br/>"It's true," Enjolras said, unable to suppress the proud smile and ignoring Grantaire's glare. "I was there." It had been their first high profile case and they had been on much worse terms than they were now. Neither of them liked to think back to a time where Grantaire had drank enough to land him in the hospital and where Enjolras had called him a coward for it instead of offering his help.<br/>"That is so amazing!" Marius exclaimed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Thetimetrick](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thetimetrick/gifts).



> IM 100% BLAMING YOU FOR THIS, ALISHA
> 
> Chapter count might change, but 4 is the plan so far  
> I don't know what I would do without my [beta](http://thesewersofparis.tumblr.com) she is the pink penis crown princess everyone needs in their lives and i love her to bits  
> I'm [here on tumblr](http://they-hear-the-music.tumblr.com) come and say hi :>

A light rain was falling and Enjolras unlocked the door to his home, 221B Baker Street, rather hurriedly to escape the cold of the dawning winter. He closed it behind him to not let any of the heat escape when he noticed the faint sound of rattling metal, getting louder as he walked further into the house.

"Grantaire?" Enjolras called as he took off his coat. "Grantaire, what's that sound?"

As expected he got no answer. Combeferre wasn't gonna be home from his date with Courfeyrac for another couple of hours so there was no sense in calling for him to get some answers.

"Grantaire if you're trying to build a death ray again, I'm telling Jehan," Enjolras said, approaching the staircase leading to the floor above. It was an empty threat since Jehan would probably be delighted about a death ray; not that Grantaire was ever gonna build one, but he had experimented with sound waves, blowing up half their glasses in the process.

There was the sound of feet tapping over the floor from upstairs and then Grantaire's head appeared over the railing of the staircase. His black curls were more unruly than usual and his blue eyes were bright and wild. The sight knocked all air out of Enjolras's lungs.

"Golden Boy," Grantaire greeted enthusiastically. "I didn't hear you come in."

"What is that sound, Grantaire?" Enjolras repeated flatly, glad that his voice never betrayed him, suspiciously eyeing the dark spots on Grantaire's hoodie. He really hoped Grantaire hadn't blown anything up again. Or was about to for that matter.

Grantaire made a dismissive gesture. "Nothing of importance. How is Feuilly? How did your thing go?"

With _thing_ Grantaire was referring to their effort to push through laws that would better protect and support sex workers, the newest project of the Friends of the ABC, a social activism group Enjolras, Combeferre and Courfeyrac had founded almost seven years ago. The project was still taking shape and Enjolras and Feuilly had spend half of the day trying to approach people from the community to get a better grasp on how they could help and what they should do. So far it had been rather fruitless.

Enjolras send Grantaire a suspicious glare. "You never ask about our _things_. What did you blow up?"

Grantaire batted his eyelashes at him, a picture of false innocence. "But Golden Boy, I always care about your things. Please tell me about your day and all the nice prostitutes you met that didn't want to talk to you."

Enjolras scoffed but smiled. He knew Grantaire good enough by now to recognize one of Grantaire's distraction tactics when he saw one. Getting Enjolras to fight with him seemed to be one of his favorites. "I'm gonna make tea and then I'm coming up. Do you want a cup?"

Grantaire shook his head. "I'm good."

He stepped back from the railing and was about to disappear again when Enjolras called over his shoulder. "Oh yes, and we have a case."

The grin he got in return was almost blinding.

 

As it turned out Grantaire hadn't blown up up anything. Enjolras stared in silent disbelieve at the old copper machinery emitting the rattling sound and then at Grantaire.

"A distillery?" he asked. "Seriously?"

Grantaire shrugged, fond eyes on the machine. "It was Joly's idea. We're gonna make our own absinth."

"Great," Enjolras said and rolled his eyes. Just what Grantaire needed.

He let his eyes wander around th e overflowing at tic, that Grantaire called his room. Books and loose paper everywhere, together with a few used mugs and an unbelievable amount of just _stuff_ . There was a half build lego castle in one corner next to an empty birdcage on top of an old treasure chest they had dug up once. The bottle count seemed to be at  Grantaire-normal levels and Enjolras was glad to notice a few new paintings. Back when they had just met Grantaire had played the violin whenever he couldn't keep his hands still and didn't want to drink to make them but after the two years of complaints from their neighbors about music at two or three am Grantaire had picked up painting, which made less noise. And he had gotten quite good at it if Enjolras's perception was anything to go by.

Enjolras noticed Grantaire's eyes on him and turned to face him. Even after seven years Enjolras was still floored by how blue Grantaire's eyes were. It had been the first thing he had noticed about Grantaire when Combeferre had introduced them, and it he had been what he'd been looking at when he had realized that he was in love with Grantaire.

"You said we have a case?" Grantaire reminded him, one eyebrow raised, effectively snapping Enjolras out of his thoughts. At least Enjolras could trust his face not to show his true feelings.

Enjolras gave him a sharp nod. "Yes, we've been asked to catch a grifter," he said already walking towards the stairs again. "Come on, the file is downstairs."

"A grifter?" Grantaire whined behind him. "You get me excited and there is not even a dead body?"

"Some people would see that as a good thing," Enjolras said slowly, as if Grantaire were a small child that he had to explain something to. The thought made Enjolras smile as he walked down the stairs.

"Urgh, natural light," Grantaire grumbled as he and Enjolras entered the sun-flooded kitchen.

"Yes, it's good for you, cellar dweller."

"Technically I live in an attic."

Enjolras just shook his head and handed Grantaire the file. It wasn't much, just a copy of a newspaper article about a toy company's financial struggles that might lead to it closing down and the printed out e-mail from their new client asking for their help.

"Felix Tholomyes?" Grantaire asked. "The CEO of Love&Play?"

"Yeah. I already called him and said we'd come by this afternoon to talk about the details."

Grantaire frowned down at the e-mail, silent for a few seconds. Then he looked up, his usual mocking grin stretching over his face.

"How come you care about some big company's head that got scammed? I thought you'd be overjoyed about something like this, not making me help this guy."

Enjolras rolled his eyes. "They produce children's toys, Grantaire. Their work ethics are one of the best in the city and a lot of people from this area will lose their jobs should the company be forced to close."

"Ah yes," Grantaire mused. "There is my Golden Boy, so full of faith in people, so sure he can save society, firm believer in the possibility of change!"

Enjolras willed himself not to blush and send Grantaire an unimpressed glare instead.

"I _do_ firmly believe that you will have to change clothes before I can take you anywhere," he said, letting his eyes wander over the dark patches on Grantaire's clothes that in the bright light of the kitchen turned out to be red paint.

"So bossy," Grantaire teased before he pulled the hoodie over his head, for a few seconds revealing the light brown skin of his tummy and an adorable happy trail. Enjolras averted his eyes. Now only wearing a thin t-shirt and surprisingly paint free jeans, Grantaire seemed almost smaller, without the too big hoodie obscuring his frame.

Grantaire wandered out of the kitchen into the living room only to emerge seconds later with one of Combeferre's cardigans.

"Better?" he asked, still with a mocking grin after he'd put it on. Enjolras just nodded. It fit him surprisingly well but Enjolras might be biased in his judgement of what looked good on Grantaire.

Both he and Combeferre had given up long ago to try and get Grantaire to stick to his own clothes. Grantaire wore what he found first with no regard for whom it might belong to and Enjolras had had to leave the room more than once because the picture of a sleepy Grantaire in Enjolras's way too long sweatpants had been simply too much for him to handle.

"Okay," Enjolras finally said, grabbing his coat and making sure that his wallet and his keys were still in its pockets. "Lets go catch a grifter."

 

Felix Tholomyes' estate was big but not pretentious and they were immediately led into a wide study. While they were waiting Enjolras busied himself by directing his attention to the many books neatly sorted into the shelves. They were high-grade books from renowned authors, and most of them looked read, he noticed not unimpressed.

"The entire collection of Dickens. That's just excessive," Grantaire said from behind him. "Bound in real leather to go with the couch."

"Stop quoting Black Books. We're here on business," Enjolras scolded and Grantaire send him a surprised look as if he hadn't suspected Enjolras to get the reference.

"Anything for you, Golden Boy," Grantaire then replied with a smirk.

The smile disappeared when he looked over the books again. He picked a few up and flicked through them then put them away again, his face unreadable. "Lots of law books for a guy who can hire the best lawyers in the city to know these books for him," Grantaire remarked.

"Yes, I was pre-law when I started my company and couldn't quite let it go," a voice said from the door and Enjolras turned to see Tholomyes entering the room and extending his hand as a greeting, his eyes on Grantaire. He looked tired but composed ,with dark circles under his green eyes, which was understandable giving the circumstances.

"You must be Grantaire, I've heard many things about you," he said. Enjolras took Tholomyes' hand when Grantaire made no effort to take his out of his pockets, where he had buried them upon Tholomyes' arrival.

"Nice to meet you," Enjolras said. "I'm Enjolras."

"A pleasure. I'm glad both of you could make it. Sadly the police seems to be able to do very little in this case." And his eyes wandered back to the door. Enjolras followed his gaze and-

"Inspector Javert! What a coincidence," Grantaire exclaimed, snark clear in his voice. Javert, who seemed to had wanted to slip by the study unnoticed, froze for a second to then turn towards them, his face drawn together as if he had just bitten into a lemon.

"Grantaire, Enjolras," he greeted through his teeth. "I heard you two have been hired for this."

"Yes," Grantaire gave Javert a quick look over. "I'm sure the department will support us with everything we need," he said, wicked grin splitting his face.

Javert just made a gruff sound at that which at least wasn't a no and stomped past the doorframe. Enjolras still remembered the days when Javert would lock him in a cell every other night, covered in blood, after arresting him at whatever protest Enjolras had been attending. Enjolras had hated the world back then, for not living up to his standards, for not changing fast enough, for being so so wrong in so many ways and maybe he'd hated himself a bit for being able to see it all and being unable to do anything about it. He had been 15 back then and he still remembered the rage he had felt which had now transformed into passion, he remembered not even bothering to run away because he hadn't wanted to run back then – he had wanted to fight whatever fight he could. Enjolras still went to most of the protests, but now Javert wasn't able to catch him anymore.

 

Tholomyes told them about everything he knew about the man who had called himself Jondrette, which wasn't very much to begin with, since most of the things he had told Tholomyes had turned out to be fake. Jondrette had come to Tholomyes with the wish to invest and Tholomyes had referred him to his immediate staff and the next thing he knew he was missing his three most expensive paintings and almost all his company's money.

"We're gonna have to talk to all the people Jondrette interacted with," Enjolras said.

Tholomyes nodded. "I can -"

"I'm assuming you don't have a photo of him?" Grantaire interrupted. While Enjolras and Tholomyes had taken a seat Grantaire was standing, eyes still wandering around the study.

Tholomyes shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I know it's not much to go on, but I will have to declare bankruptcy and close the company if I the culprit and the money isn't found. You two are my last hope."

They said their goodbyes shortly after and left the estate. The wind was still blowing, bringing the cold and dark clouds with them. Enjolras burrowed deeper into his coat sending Grantaire a short glare for being not even remotely bothered by the cold. Grantaire was digging around in his pockets, producing a handful of yellow post it notes that Enjolras was pretty sure had been prior attached to the insides of Tholomyes' law books.

"You stole his notes?!" he said, not without horror.

Grantaire, who had been scanning the small pieces of paper looked up. "Obviously," he said like Enjolras w as the one being irrational right now. "The guy is hiding something. That were way too many read law books back there for it to just be a hobby."

Enjolras huffed. "You are the most impossible person I have ever met."

Grantaire grinned. "Yeah, but you love me anyway."

This time Enjolras did blush, glad that Grantaire was still too focused on his stolen notes to notice. "And? Found anything interesting?" he asked after a few seconds.

As an answer Grantaire just handed Enjolras the post-it notes.

Originally Enjolras's life plan had been to study law alongside Courfeyrac, but with an arrest record like his no university had been willing to accept him. Still, he had picked up a few things from Courfeyrac and Bahorel, so he could decipher that most of the little scribbles were references to cases and rulings. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"These seem like perfectly normal notes," Enjolras said.

Grantaire heaved a theatrical sigh. "Oh my dear Golden Boy…"

Enjolras rolled his eyes and shoved the notes back at Grantaire. "Cut the dramatics, you're just too stubborn to admit that these notes are worthless and that you compromised our client's trust for nothing."

Grantaire just grinned.

"So what's our next step then?" Enjolras asked instead of going down the fruitless road of getting Grantaire to admit something.

"We go to the precinct," Grantaire said like that should have been obvious.

Enjolras frowned. "Why?"

"Because Javert had sex and I wanna know with whom."

 

The police precinct Javert worked at was busy as usual when Grantaire strove in like he owned the place. They both got a few dirty looks as they approached Javert's desk. No one here really liked either of them, for the officers they were still the annoying drunk, who had spend more nights in their drunk tank than he could count and that now had gotten even more on their collective nerves by upstaging them and being an obnoxious ass about it, and the disruptive anarchist who had in his time set more than one trashcan next to the station on fire. Javert was the only one even remotely willing to work with them, grudgingly listening to Grantaire's wild theories that usually turned out to be right.

Grantaire fell into the chair next to the desk with ease, ignoring Javert's glare. "What do you want, Grantaire?"

"I need all traffic footage around the offices of Love&Play."

"There is already someone going through them," Javert said without looking up.

"Could you get us copies then?" Grantaire asked and when Javert made no move to accommodate his wishes Grantaire continued with a sigh. "Let's just make this easier for the both of us and skip the part where you're gonna be stubborn and I'm gonna be ultimately right and you come crawling back to me so I can solve your case and juts give me what I want now?"

Javert looked like he might throttle Grantaire but he got up slowly, his voice dangerously calm. "I'll be right back."

Once he was out of sight Grantaire took his seat, starting to go through Javert's calendar and files. Enjolras really should stop being surprised by Grantaire's audacious behavior.

"Grantaire, what are you doing?" Enjolras hissed, looking around to make sure that they were not being thrown out in the next few seconds. Most of the officers were working at their desks others were busy talking to people, no one was really paying attention to them anymore.

"I told you," Grantaire said lifting the PC screen to find a note with Javert's passwords underneath. "I wanna know who he's sleeping with." And he typed in the one for Javert's computer, scrolling through his e-mails.

"This is in no way relevant to the case," Enjolras tried, his voice an angry whisper.

Grantaire looked away from the screen and locked eyes with Enjolras. "This is very relevant to the case," he declared in a grave tone.

"Grantaire," Enjolras said with a growl.

Grantaire sighed as if Enjolras was the one being difficult right now and switched the screen off again. "Fine," he grumbled as he took his old place just in time for Javert to come back, followed by a boy around their age, maybe a bit younger, who was carrying two large boxes filled with what appeared to be VHS cassettes.

"This is Marius," Javert said. "Its his job to review the material. I'm sending him with you so he can supervise the evidence and you can view it with him."

"Hi," Marius greeted with an awkward smile. He was tall and lanky with copper hair, light brown eyes and freckles everywhere.

"Great, great," Javert muttered. "Now leave, I have work to do."

"A pleasure as always, Inspector," Grantaire said mocking tone evident in his voice as he got up. "Come on, Marius. Let's roll!"

 

They took a cab back to Baker Street since the two boxes were anything but light. As it turned out Marius was the new intern and wanted to be a cop just like his father had been before him. Enjolras bit back his comments on the profession of policeman but if Grantaire's grin was anything to go on Grantaire had heard them anyway. Marius, at first a bit intimidated by the two, was now cheerfully chatting away as they carried the boxes inside.

"I read a lot about you, Grantaire," he said stepping inside behind Enjolras. "Is it true that you were able to proof the New Ripper guilty just by looking at him?"

"Newspapers tend to exaggerate," Grantaire huffed.

"It's true," Enjolras said, unable to suppress the proud smile and ignoring Grantaire's glare. "I was there."

It had been their first high profile case and they had been on much worse terms than they were now. Neither of them liked to think back to a time where Grantaire had drank enough to land him in the hospital and where Enjolras had called him a coward for it instead of offering his help.

"That is so amazing!" Marius exclaimed.

"It's nothing," Grantaire muttered. For someone who constantly demanded Enjolras's attention with his contrary personality and his quick humor, Grantaire didn't really handle positive attention very well. He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably and placed his box on their couch table, Marius following his example.

"We're gonna be at this for a while so I'm gonna make coffee," Enjolras said. "Marius, do you want some?"

"Sure, thank you."

Grantaire disappeared into the attic for a bit, reemerging with a VHS player that he connected with their TV. Once he was done Enjolras brought him his coffee, black, just the way he liked it.

"Thanks, Golden Boy," Grantaire said just as there was the scratching of keys turning in the door, followed by the sound of Combeferre's wheelchair.

"I'm home," Combeferre called.

"And he brought the party," Courfeyrac added with glee.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got to update this faster than I had originally thought which is nice

Enjolras had met Courfeyrac in his senior year of high school and he had been the first person to not dismiss him as the angry kid from the back row who was always stuck in detention. Courfeyrac had listened, had asked questions and Courfeyrac had stayed. Finding a kindred spirit had ignited Enjolras' rage and passion even more but now he had someone at his side, someone who cared like he did and his hate towards the world faded away replaced by the burning believe that change was possible and achievable. Courfeyrac had come out to Enjolras as genderfluid in in a jail cell, covered in blood that wasn't their own, a wide grin on their face and Enjolras had hugged them. Without Courfeyrac Enjolras could not have gotten a hold of his anger so that now he could focus it towards making the world a better place for them in return.

A year later they both had stumbled over Combeferre and Jehan on the local cemetery, where the two had tried to hold a seance and had been kind enough to hide them from the policeman Enjolras and Courfeyrac had been running away from. A few hours later Jehan and Courfeyrac were making out passionately on a bench and Enjolras and Combeferre were deep in discussion, talking like they had known each other for years. That day the first draft of the Friends of the ABC was born and a week later Enjolras, Combeferre and Courfeyrac had found a cute little cafe whose owner Courfeyrac had charmed into letting them use their back room for meetings. Three people came to their first meeting, Jehan, who was generally very excited about it all, Feuilly, who had seemed weary at first about all these upper class students seemingly priding themselves in trying to make a difference, and Bossuet, who swore to this day that he had walked in by accident and then had been to scared of "the angry blond" to leave. With Bossuet came Joly and Musichetta and Enjolras almost couldn't believe his luck, having found so many people willing to fight by his side.

Courfeyrac's and Jehan's breakup had been loud and dramatic half a year later and around the same time Enjolras' parents had finally decided to throw him out instead of pretending he wasn't their biggest disappointment. Not that Enjolras had cared. Combeferre told Enjolras to just move in with him and his roommate and Enjolras had met Grantaire. To say they hadn't gotten along at first would have been an understatement but to say they had hated each other would have been wrong. They were two opposites colliding and it had taken them quite some time to adjust to each other.

Grantaire was highly perceptive, a sarcastic asshole bordering on cynical who took great care not to believe in anything. He drank, he smoked, he was sometimes barely functional, always toeing the line to addiction. The only thing that could keep him occupied, away from his vices, was a good mystery. Even before Enjolras had met him Grantaire had solved one or two cases for the police. Enjolras remembered how Grantaire had waved off all praise, claiming to just have been at the right place at the right time. Enjolras also remembered how Grantaire's eyes had lit up when they had solved their first case together more by accident than anything else. And Enjolras remembered how his heart had skipped a beat at the sight.

 

\--

Combeferre and Courfeyrac had retreated to the kitchen to make dinner and Enjolras, Marius and Grantaire started reviewing the material. It was mostly boring work and the walking around trying to talk to people all morning and then taking a case was starting to take its toll on Enjolras. His eyes kept falling shut more than once until he finally drifted off, his head pillowed on something soft and warm.

When he woke up his face was pressed into some woolen material that radiated heat, he could hear Courfeyrac and Marius quietly chatting a few feet away and there was a hand combing lightly through his hair. He felt warm and fuzzy and weirdly safe and Enjolras never wanted to move away from this exact place. A low pleased hum escaped his lips and the hand stilled.

"Good morning, sleepy-head." The vibrations of Grantaire's voice went through his chest on which, Enjolras realized, he was pillowed on.

He bolted upright, almost falling from the couch, his face probably on fire if the heat in his cheeks was anything to go by. Grantaire laughed and Enjolras couldn't look him in the eyes, instead his gaze wandered to the place on Grantaire's chest his head had been on and he noticed with horror the little spot of drool darkening the wool of Combeferre's cardigan.

"I- I am so sorry!" Enjolras' eyes were still glued to where he had drooled on Grantaire, and he wished for the earth to swallow him whole.

"Don't sweat it, Golden Boy," Grantaire replied, laughter still clear in his voice. "Did you have a nice nap?"

Enjolras straightened himself, willing his heart to stop beating at twice its speed and for his blush to go away. He finally managed to tear his eyes away from Grantaire's chest and look him in the eyes. Grantaire looked back at him, amused and maybe a bit fond, which did nothing to help reduce the speed of Enjolras' heartbeat.

"Sorry I drooled on you," he said with all the dignity he could muster and fled the room.

 

Enjolras found Combeferre in the kitchen, closely watching a turtle. The turtle was sitting on a rock in a terrarium that someone had put on the kitchen table, and it was staring right back at Combeferre, who had placed his wheelchair in front of it. Enjolras had to this point not been aware that they owned a turtle.

"Ferre," he said slowly. "What is this?"

"Kassiopeia," Combeferre said without looking away.

Enjolras really needed less cryptic friends. "What?"

"Her name is Kassiopeia," Combeferre explained as if that should have been obvious.

Enjolras sighed. "Okay, what's she doing here?"

"Jehan found her. They thought we might want to adopt her."

Okay, that did make some sense at least. "You didn't mention anything about her when you guys came in."

"Jehan brought her over when you were asleep."

Enjolras could feel himself blushing. "I see."

Combeferre smirked without looking away. "I'm assuming that's why you're here."

Enjolras fell into a chair next to his best friend and let out what was most certainly not a whine. "I drooled on him, Ferre. I _drooled_ on him!"

The smirk turned into a fond smile. "He didn't look like he minded."

Enjolras just sighed again and let his head rest on Combeferre's shoulder. As an silent answer his best friend reached up to lightly pat his head. He was still not looking away from the turtle.

"Are you having a staring contest with a turtle?"

"No," Combeferre finally turned to face him. "I just won a staring contest with a turtle," he said completely serious and a little smug, startling a laugh out of Enjolras.

"Well done," Enjolras told him with a smile.

"She's gonna be living in my room," Combeferre decided fondly as the kitchen door was opened and Courfeyrac strolled inside, Grantaire and Marius in tow.

"Now that Enj' is awake can we eat?" Courfeyrac asked. "I'm, like, crazy hungry."

"You guys didn't have to wait for me," Enjolras told them, feeling a little guilty. "Or you could have woken me up."

Grantaire shook his head, making his wild curls fly. "Nah, you sleep way too little as it is, Golden Boy."

Courfeyrac nodded in agreement. "And eating together is important," they said with a wide smile. "Come one Marius, you can help me set the table." So, apparently Marius was going to stay for dinner, Enjolras concluded. Courfeyrac had probably invited him, Enjolras had noticed them getting along quite well before he had fallen asleep.

Grantaire took the place opposite of Combeferre, crossed his arms on the table and put his chin on top, so he had a better view into the terrarium. He was still wearing Combeferre's cardigan, drool stain and all. Enjolras wished once more for the earth to swallow him whole.

"I see you've met our new roomie, Golden Boy," Grantaire said.

"Only if no one has any objections to her staying, that is," Combeferre added.

Grantaire spoke before Enjolras could answer. "Hey, we took in a righteous god, might as well take in a sweet little turtle."

For that Enjolras kicked him under the table. Grantaire stuck out his tongue at him as an answer.

"Of course I have no problem with her staying," Enjolras said, instead of stooping down to Grantaire's level and sticking out his tongue as well.

"Yeah, and if everything fails we can still eat her. I hear they make great soup," Grantaire said.

Combeferre put his hands on either side of the terrarium protectively. "Don't scare her like that," he hissed with slight horror in his voice.

Grantaire just laughed as Combeferre looked down at Kassiopeia, who was busy chewing a piece of lettuce, completely unfazed by the shenanigans around her. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," he told her.

 

Combeferre insisted on taking her to his room himself since Grantaire couldn't be trusted anymore and then they finally sat down for dinner. For a while there was silence as they were all rather hungry and basically inhaling the pasta with spinach Courfeyrac and Combeferre had made.

"So did you guys find anything yet?" Courfeyrac asked, filling their plate with their second helping.

"No, I'm afraid not," Marius said. "We couldn't even spot him on one camera."

"So we have nothing?" Enjolras asked around a mouthful of pasta.

Marius gave a sad nod at that. "So far it looks like it."

Enjolras send a quick glance to Grantaire, who had been quiet so far, thoughtfully chewing his spinach. Grantaire was never one to share his theories, enjoying the moment when he could explain how it all fit together, so it was hard to say if he was onto something. Enjolras knew him good enough by now to know, that even if Grantaire were having some ideas, he was not at a point of his process where he was willing to talk about them. So he redirected his attention back to Courfeyrac who was asking Marius about his work with Javert and the police station in general. They seemed to have become friends easily which wasn't a surprise given how easy it was to be friends with Courfeyrac in general. There was a certain warmth about them that drew people in and Enjolras felt the not unfamiliar gratitude washing through him of having all these amazing people in his life.

Marius had to head home soon after dinner, leaving the security footage behind at Grantaire's request. He was going to come by the next day to pick it up on his way to work.

“I think I'll have one final look at them,” Grantaire told Enjolras, while putting his plate in the sink, “You go sleep, Golden Boy. God knows you need it.”

At that Enjolras could just nod, feeling the exhaustion of the day. He send Feuilly a quick e-mail summarizing the notes he took this morning and proposing to try again tomorrow night should the case allow it. Then he fell into his bed and was out like a light seconds later.

 

Enjolras found Grantaire the next morning asleep in front of the TV that was still running security footage. He rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen to make both himself and Grantaire coffee, before sitting down next to him and gently shaking his shoulder.

"Grantaire," Enjolras whispered. No reaction. A bit louder he added: "Rise and shine."

Grantaire let out a low groan at that, wiggling a bit deeper into the cushions. "No," he grumbled. "Go away."

His hand was fisted into a light blanket Combeferre had probably thrown over him to protect him from the cold, his hair was a nest of black curls more unruly than ever and his nose was wrinkled in disgust of being woken up. It was was the most adorable thing Enjolras had seen in a while and the urge to push away the hair plastered to Grantaire's forehead to press a quick kiss to his skin overcame Enjolras not for the first time. He sighed and hoped he didn't sound too lovesick.

"I made you coffee," he told Grantaire, putting down Grantaire's mug on the couch table. "Drink it before it's cold and then go shower. I'm gonna make breakfast and then we can discuss our next steps."Grantaire let out an agreeing hum and Enjolras got up to wash the dishes they had left in the sink yesterday. And if he sprayed some cold water onto his face first, that was only for him to know. 

When he was about halfway done he heard Grantaire padding into the kitchen. He had the blanket wrapped around his head and shoulders and in his hand the now empty coffee mug. Their shoulders brushed when he put it into the sink, so Enjolras could clean it along with the other tableware. He made another sleepy sound as he blinked up at Enjolras, clearly still far from properly awake. Enjolras wanted to smile down at him, wide and loving, and share some of the warmth he felt in his chest, but he knew that he couldn't. After all, Grantaire was the most perceptive person he knew and it was basically a miracle that he hadn't guessed Enjolras' true feelings yet, something Enjolras intended to keep that way. So instead he gave Grantaire a good-natured shove with his shoulder.

"Go shower, blanket monster."

Grantaire let out a huff and padded away, wrapping himself even deeper in the blanket. Now Enjolras could allow himself to smile like the lovestruck idiot he was.

When he heard the running water of the shower he let his thoughts wander back to their case. So far things weren't looking too well for them. Catching a grifter wasn't something they did often, not really, and while Enjolras had complete faith in Grantaire, he could tell that Grantaire didn't have that much faith himself.

 

Courfeyrac, who had apparently stayed the night, and Combeferre joined them for breakfast. Combeferre was still in his firetruck pajama, but Courfeyrac was already wearing their suit, sporting a truly ridiculous tie.

"You have a court date?" Enjolras asked.

"Yeah, gotta leave in five minutes," Courfeyrac said around a mouthful of toast. "The divorce case has their second hearing today."

Even showered and caffeinated Grantaire was still nonverbal, but he had a sympathetic grunt for them. Courfeyrac smiled and ruffled his still damp hair before disappearing to find their briefcase.

"I'll see you to the door," Combeferre said, simply putting his plate with eggs in his lap and following his significant other.

They were likely to make out at the door for the remaining three minutes of Courfeyrac's time so Enjolras nudged Grantaire's foot with his own to get his attention. "So did you find anything before you fell asleep?"

Grantaire shook his head slowly. "From the description we were given by Tholomyes I can safely say that Jondrette was in none of the shots," he offered, his voice still hoarse from sleep.

Enjolras had been afraid that would be the case. "So we have nothing?"

"No actually," Grantaire said, blinking down at his still untouched toast. "It does tell us something."

Enjolras raised his eyebrows. "And what's that?"

"That this guy is clever enough to know all the dead angles of the traffic cameras and how to use them," Grantaire continued with a frown.

That wasn't exactly good news. If Jondrette had planed this well enough to successfully avoid all traffic cameras, it was unlikely for him to have left any usable evidence behind. Grantaire was chewing on his lip instead of his toast, one of his many nervous habits.

"Are you worried we might not catch him?" Enjolras asked.

Grantaire didn't respond but didn't deny his fear either. He just stared down on his plate, poking his toast a bit with his knife.

"I'm sure we can do it!" Enjolras told him. "We've faced tougher odds before!"

Grantaire looked up. "Ah, Golden Boy," he said with a humorless laugh. "Such unwavering faith in the people."

"This isn't about 'the people'," Enjolras replied, rolling his eyes. "I have faith in you."

Grantaire's eyes widened and he looked at him as if Enjolras had just proclaimed his undying love for capitalism and current distribution of wealth. Enjolras was being too obvious again but he couldn't just let Grantaire convince himself of being worthless.

"I believe in you, Grantaire," he said, quiet and simple.

Grantaire's lips parted in surprise but no sound escaped them. Enjolras could feel the heat crawling up his neck but he held Grantaire's gaze, unwavering.

"So?" Enjolras said after a few beats, maybe a bit more forceful than necessary. "Do we have a plan? Any next steps?"

It took Grantaire a moment to catch himself, but then he send Enjolras his most wicked grin. "We're gonna visit the mayor."

"Why?" Enjolras asked warily. Grantaire grinning like he was about to break out into an evil laugh was never a good sign. At least he had started eating.

"You'll see," Grantaire just said. His eyes flickered to the clock above the sink and he jumped a bit in his seat. "And now get up or we'll be late!" he exclaimed with wide eyes, already rising from his chair.

"You made an appointment?" Enjolras asked surprised, getting up himself. Grantaire was not usually someone who made appointments. Or kept them for that matter.

Grantaire just flashed him another wicked grin. "Something like that."

Yes, Enjolras definitely needed less cryptic friends.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kassiopeia is the turtle from Momo, a novel by Michael Ende that I loved as a child and I am convinced so did Combeferre. 
> 
> thank you for reading, feedback is greatly apreciated :)
> 
> My [beta](http://thesewersofparis.tumblr.com) is the best and I can't thank her enough  
> I'm [here on tumblr](http://they-hear-the-music.tumblr.com) come and say hi :>
> 
> (Update probably in two weeks if I can keep my schedule)


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